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INSPIRATION

The 3 Elements Neededto Build Creative Geniusin the Workplace

Stephan Wiedner

APRIL 07, 2014

We often think of creativity as something that’s difficult

to harness -- that elusive “aha!” moment that strikes in

the shower or when driving home from work.

Companies have tried with mixed success to increase

the chances of light bulb moments but creativity is still

considered something you just have to “let happen.”

Yet, if you examine the science behind creative

thought, you can isolate the elements that contribute to

creativity and use these behaviors to benefit your

company.

Element 1: Curiosity. This is one ingredient that nearly

all creative geniuses have in common. Albert Einstein

once wrote, “I have no special talents. I am only

passionately curious,” and in his biography of Leonardo

da Vinci, author Peter J. Gelb concluded that the root of

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da Vinci’s greatness was his “unrelenting quest for

continuous learning.”

Marcial Losada, a psychologist and expert on team

dynamics, found that the most successful teams exhibit

a higher ratio of inquiry statements (asking questions)

than advocacy statements (defending a point of view).

For instance, if someone has an idea for a new

marketing campaign, an inquirer might ask, “How

quickly do you think we could roll that out?” Conversely,

a statement of advocacy says, “That would take three

months to roll out.”

Related: Five Creativity Exercises to Find Your

Passion

Companies looking to increase creativity should start by

encouraging employees to ask more questions.

Element 2: Outward thinking. Losada also discovered

that the most successful teams make a higher ratio of

“other-focused statements,” meaning they embrace

outside points of view. So rather than focusing on

themselves, they tend to shift their attention outward,

informing their own work by collaborating and studying

what others are doing.

In his book “Steal Like an Artist,” author and artist

Austin Kleon says, “All creative work builds on what

came before.” He has a point. Often, originality comes

from combining, building on and improving ideas.

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Individuals and companies can be more creative simply

by examining the world openly, absorbing new

experiences and ideas and deciding what’s worth

“stealing.”

Element 3: Positivity. Recent research shows that

happiness in the workplace causes people to work

harder and be more productive. What’s more, another

study found that people are more creative when they

feel happy and intrinsically motivated.

Related: From Beethoven to Marissa Mayer: The

Bizarre Habits of Highly Creative People

David Logan, Ph.D. and author of Tribal Leadership,

points out that great teams move from thinking “I’m

great” to “we’re great,” ultimately reaching the level of

“life is great.” This positive outlook broadens your point

of view and enhances your creative problem-solving

abilities.

With all this supportive evidence promoting creativity,

how can companies motivate employees to get their

creative juices flowing? Here are Here are some tactics

to cultivate these three elements and boost creativity

within your company:

Organize lunch-and-learn events. Uncover your

employees’ unusual skills and passions by organizing a

monthly lunch event that allows them to share their

cooking skills or love of vintage bikes. Your employees

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will learn something new while forming stronger

relationships as they uncover common interests.

Invest in coaching for your employees. The ability to

ask questions, focus on others and maintain positivity

are teachable skills. Training from a life coach can give

your employees tools they can immediately implement

with customers and co-workers.

Related: Seven Steps to Coaching Your Employees to

Success

Shake up your meeting agendas. If your team has

regular meetings, consider a few simple and impactful

agenda changes. Opening meetings with good news

will stimulate more positivity on your team. When

discussing problems, incorporate five “whys” to help

employees examine the issue with greater curiosity and

understand the cause of the problem. To encourage

more other-focused behaviors, ask meeting participants

to acknowledge and thank other team members when

reporting their own progress and successes.

Incorporate creative time. Google is known for its “20

percent time” policy; Facebook is known for its

hackathons. When possible, give employees time to

work on projects of their choosing to cultivate curiosity.

(Employees can attend a Startup Weekend event to get

their creative juices flowing.)

Ask your employees. Not sure what other tactics will

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INSPIRATION

How to Lead and Succeedby Expecting Your Best

Image credit: Charlie Batch | Facebook

encourage creativity among your employees? Be a

model of curiosity by asking them yourself. Your team is

likely to have great suggestions.

Don’t wait around for ideas to strike in the shower. You

can orchestrate more creative breakthroughs. Just

harness the power of science by embracing curiosity,

looking to others and cultivating a positive outlook at

your company. You’ll be amazed by the results.

Related: How to Assemble a Creative Team That

Clicks

Charlie Batch

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ContributorNFL Quarterback And Speaker

APRIL 25, 2015

At some point in our lives, most of us have heard it: You’re not

good enough. You’re not smart enough. And even if you try,

greatness won't come from you.

Related: 5 Ways We Can All Silence Our Inner Crow

Many of us hear and feel these messages growing up as kids

and then throughout our adult lives in business. I heard it the

first time as a 7-year-old kid from Homestead, Pennsylvania,

who dared to say I wanted to grow up to be a Pittsburgh

Steeler.

Today, I have lived my dream, not only as an NFL quarterback

for my hometown team, but also as a founder of the Best of

the Batch Foundation and a sports commentator.Today, I am

also an entrepreneur, partnering with universities to bring

breakthrough health and wellness technologies to market.

As such, I'm the very antithesis of those early lies about low

expectations that I countered as a boy. While it wasn’t always

easy getting to this point, I eventually learned -- with support

from friends, family, coaches and teammates -- to “throw the

challenge flag” at those lies and doubts I had allowed to grow

within myself. I found a way to expect my best, which in turn

has allowed me to lead and succeed. Here are the three parts

of my formula:

1. Be ready.Being ready means putting in the work daily that others do

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only occasionally. As the backup QB for the Steelers, I learned

to take the reps I could get on the practice field, and take

mental reps when I was on the sidelines. That physical and

mental preparedness took me to three Super Bowls.

2. Be resilient.We all get knocked down; it’s how you get up again that

counts. When I was a student at Eastern Michigan University,

my younger sister Danyl was shot and killed in the crossfire of

gang violence. When I made it to the crime scene, I had a

choice: Retaliate or be resilient. I chose resiliency and created

the Best of the Batch Foundation. Today, each year we help

more than 3,000 kids prepare for brighter futures.

Related: How Do You Build Resilience?

3. Be the pro.Being the pro means stepping up and taking

responsibility, treating others with dignity and respect and

giving back to the communities that have given us so much. 

When you expect your best in business and in life, amazing

things can happen. Ask yourself, “What is your goal? What is

your personal Super Bowl?” Then be ready, be resilient and

be the pro to lead and succeed.

Related: So You Think You Have Something to Prove?